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California Plastic Bag Ban Rejected By State Lawmakers |
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Written by Robin Hindery, Huffington Post
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9/1/10 California lawmakers have rejected a bill seeking to ban plastic shopping bags after a contentious debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice.
The Democratic bill, which failed late Tuesday, would have been the first statewide ban, although a few California cities already prohibit their use.
The measure offered California an opportunity to emerge at the forefront of a global trend, said Sen. Gil Cedillo, who carried the measure on the Senate floor.
"If we don't solve this problem today, if we don't create a statewide standard, if we don't provide the leadership that is being called for, others will," the Los Angeles Democrat said during Tuesday evening's debate.
Discouraging plastic bag use through fees or bans first gained traction outside of the U.S. in nations such as South Africa, Ireland, China and Bangladesh. In January, Washington, D.C., implemented a 5-cent surcharge on disposable paper and plastic bags.
A handful of California cities already ban single-use plastic bags, after San Francisco became the first to do so in 2007.
Palo Alto, Malibu and Fairfax in Marin County have since followed, while a ban approved in Manhattan Beach is tied up in litigation, said Matthew King, a spokesman for Heal the Bay, the Santa Monica-based nonprofit that sponsored AB1998.
Supporters of the bill said the 19 billion plastic bags state residents use every year harm the environment and cost the state $25 million annually to collect and transport to landfills. It had been the subject of a furious lobbying campaign by the plastic bag manufacturing industry, which called it a job killer.
The bill's author, Democratic Assemblywoman Julia Brownley of Santa Monica, said lawmakers had failed Californians by defeating the measure. But she said the movement to ban plastic bags would continue despite the setback.
The bill's main opponent, the Virginia-based American Chemistry Council, spent millions in lobbying fees, radio ads and even a prime-time television ad attacking the measure. The organization represents plastic bag manufacturers such as Dow Chemical Co. and ExxonMobil Corp.
Last year, it helped defeat an effort by Seattle to impose a 20-cent fee on the use of plastic or paper grocery bags. Read Full Article |
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MLPA Stakeholders Develop Unified Proposal For North Coast |
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Written by Dan Bacher, IndyBay
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9/1/10 The development of a unified marine protected area (MLPA) proposal on the North Coast is a great victory for fishermen, Tribes, seaweed harvesters, environmentalists and other stakeholders in the MLPA process. Rather than being “divided and conquered” by the Schwarzenegger administration as has happened elsewhere in the MLPA study regions, they chose to work together and overcome their differences to develop a consensus proposal.
In a great show of unity between Tribal members, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and environmentalists, the 33 members of the Regional Stakeholder Group for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative on August 31 adopted one unified proposal for marine protected areas (MPAs) stretching from Point Arena in Mendocino County to the Oregon border.
The North Coast stakeholders were the first ever to develop a single consensus proposal under the controversial, privately funded process. In the Central Coast, North Central Coast and South Coast regions, environmental NGOs and fishing groups supported separate proposals.
The proposal will be submitted to the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for review at before their October 25-27 meeting at the Fortuna River Lodge. The final proposal will then go to the Fish and Game Commission for final approval at their meeting in Sacramento in December.
"Everyone talked about a unified community proposal at the beginning of the MLPA process, but I wasn't expecting to pull it off,” said Adam Wagschal, Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreational and Conservation District Conservation Director, in a news release from Cal Oceans, a coalition of three environmental NGOs. “Sure enough though, everyone came together and we did it. It's a great accomplishment.”
Tribal representatives also applauded the adoption of a unified proposal that allows for traditional tribal fishing and gathering rights. The stakeholders meeting was preceded by a historic protest in Fort Bragg on July 21 where over 300 Tribal members from 50 Indian nations, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, immigrant seafood industry workers and environmentalists peacefully took over an MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force meeting in defense of tribal fishing and gathering rights.
“There was significant progress by the stakeholders in coming together to create a unified proposal that protects tribal rights,” said Megan Rocha, Acting Self-Governance Officer of the Yurok Tribe. “The stakeholders did the best they could in respecting tribal gathering and fishing rights. Now this issue will go to the state of California and tribes to work it out at the next level.”
Rocha emphasized that every MPA proposal includes language to allow continued tribal uses in marine protected areas. In certain areas, the stakeholders also included language allowing for co-management between the tribes and the state.
Over the past few months, the initial set of MPA eight proposals was whittled down to four. The Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG), including Tribal leaders, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, harbormasters, divers, seaweed harvesters, business leaders and conservation representatives found enough common ground to develop one final proposal.
“The stakeholders took a strong position affirming tribal rights,” said Rocha. “It was unbelievable how committed the stakeholders were to making sure that tribal rights were respected. All of the tribes really appreciated that support.”
The proposal will result in about 13 percent of the North Coast region being restricted or closed to fishing and gathering, versus 16 to 20 percent in other regions of the state.
Representatives of conservation groups applauded the effort, despite some concerns that the plan may not fully meet the scientific guidelines laid out for the MLPA process.
“Everyone made sacrifices to get to this point,” said Jennifer Savage, Ocean Conservancy’s North Coast Program Coordinator. “We started out with a number of significant differences regarding needs and desires, but ultimately our respect for each other and willingness to work together enabled us to develop a plan we can all send forward.”’
The plan includes three “State Marine Reserves,” zones completely closed to all fishing, just south of Cape Mendocino, about a mile offshore of the Mattole River and along an area west of Petrolia. Another MPA along Samoa allows for Dungeness crab, chinook salmon and smelt fishing. The MPAs include two areas to the south of Redding Rock, one allowing fishing and the other a no-take zone.
Recreational and commercial fishermen also praised the development of a single proposal.
“I'm happy that we came up with a single proposal,” Tim Klassen, captain of the Reel Steel charter boat out of Humboldt Bay, told the Eureka Times Standard on August 31, “and hopefully we'll keep our fate in our own hands.”
Despite the adoption of a unified proposal for the North Coast, significant concerns about the overall MLPA process remain.
Fishermen, Tribal members and environmentalists are concerned that the MLPA process under Schwarzenegger has taken oil drilling, water pollution, wave energy development, habitat destruction and other human uses of the ocean other than fishing and gathering off the table. The MLPA would do nothing to stop another Exxon Valdez or Deepwater Horizon oil disaster from devastating the California coast.
MLPA critics have also blasted the Governor for appointing an oil industry lobbyist, a marina developer, a real estate executive and people with conflicts of interest on the Blue Ribbon Task Forces that develop the marine reserves. Read Full Article |
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United -- but not without cost; Marine Protected Area proposal finds consensus in North Coast group |
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Written by John Driscoll, Times Standard
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9/1/10 Representatives of North Coast fishing, environmental and tribal interests on Tuesday did what no other group has done: Come up with a single proposal to put certain areas along the coast off limits to fishing and gathering as part of the 1999 Marine Life Protection Act.
The regional stakeholders group hashed out the final details of the proposal that will be sent along to a Blue Ribbon Task Force and on to the Fish and Game Commission for final approval in December.
”Single proposal -- we did it,” said Adam Wagschal, conservation director for the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District.
As the public-private partnership called the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative brought the controversial process to other areas of the state, regional groups developed numerous different proposals for their areas -- and got what most described as profoundly disappointing results. As the initiative approached the North Coast, local interests pushed for a united proposal that would be less vulnerable to change in the Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Fish and Game Commission.
In the end, the North Coast regional stakeholders group found consensus, consensus that will result in about 12 percent of the coast from the Albion River to the Oregon border restricted or closed to fishing and gathering. The Marine Protected Areas -- MPAs -- include two areas to the south of Redding Rock, one allowing fishing and the other a no-take zone.
Another, less restrictive zone along Samoa allows for salmon, Dungeness crab and smelt fishing. Three State Marine Reserves -- the most restrictive zones -- were placed just south of Cape Mendocino, about a mile offshore of the Mattole River and along an area west of Petrolia.
”I'm happy that we came up with a single proposal,” said Tim Klassen, who runs the charter fishing boat Reel Steel out of Humboldt Bay, “and hopefully we'll keep our fate in our own hands.”
While the single proposal presents a united front to Blue Ribbon Task Force members and the Fish and Game Commission, it may not be invulnerable. While the proposal meets most of the MLPA's guidelines, there are some areas that are slightly deficient, which most believe is due to applying the guidelines to the unique North Coast region. The task force could recommend changes to the proposal as it's presented to the Fish and Game Commission, though local interests believe substantial changes are far less likely to occur after such a show of consensus.
”We've got a unified proposal,” said Humboldt Baykeeper Executive Director Pete Nichols. “It's never been done before.”
On Monday and Tuesday, the regional stakeholder group argued over minute changes to the boundaries of the various MPAs, which apply in state waters out to 3 miles. Areas off Point Cabrillo and Ten Mile River were haggled over for more than two hours Tuesday, until the majority of the group urged holdouts to compromise on a few hundred yards of shoreline they were concerned could limit public access and mussel and urchin gathering.
The complex process has spanned months, with the 33 local representatives and the large staff of the MLPA Initiative meeting for hours to craft MPAs.
Greg Dale with Coast Seafood Co., the largest oyster grower on Humboldt Bay, credited the tight-knit group of local people with coming up with a unified proposal. He said that it appears that the group ended up with MPAs it can live with, but said that there were substantial compromises made to get there.
”Like everybody says, the train left the station,” Dale said.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force is scheduled to meet Oct. 25 to Oct. 27 at the Fortuna River Lodge. It will then hold a joint meeting with the California Fish and Game Commission on Dec. 15 in Sacramento, where a final plan is expected to be adopted. Read Full Article |
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Arcata Elementary student Ocean Day documentary to be shown at Arcata Theatre Lounge's Ocean Night |
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Written by Allison White, Times-Standard
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8/30/10 An unusual school project will get a local movie debut on Thursday at Arcata Theatre Lounge's monthly Ocean Night. Arcata Elementary School students took part in a “dynamic project” last June aimed at demonstrating the importance of protecting the oceans and not allowing litter to reach the water, said Allison Poklemba, education program manager for the Arcata Community Recycling Center, a partner in the project. Students took part in a beach cleanup, collected 6,000 bottles in a plastics collection drive and simulated the Pacific Ocean gyre, or garbage patch, a swirling mass of plastic waste currently residing in the ocean. ”Every student in every grade had an opportunity to learn about how trash impacts our environment and the ocean,” she said. After the project was completed, Sunny Brae Middle School students put together a 14-minute video on the project called “The Seagull's Dream.” The school planned to send copies of the DVD to other districts in the area to use it as a starting point for discussions, but now it will be put up on the silver screen in Arcata. The short film will be featured at the Theatre Lounge's Ocean Night, along with “September Sessions” and “A Sheltered Sea: The Journey of the Marine Life Protection Act.” The monthly Ocean Night is sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy, Humboldt Surfrider and Humboldt Baykeeper, and features movies that explore the sea “from majestic documentaries to epic surf flicks,” according to the Theatre Lounge website. The school's short documentary of its project is from the point of view of a seagull, narrated by fifth grader Stella Joy. The film covered what students learned about the ocean and litter, and the amount of trash found at local beaches, with a focus on the main project -- stringing a huge spiral of plastic bottles on the field to simulate the large mass of plastic waste already in the Pacific Ocean. At the film's end, all the students from the school gathered around the spiral of plastic and made a pledge to keep the sea litter free. ”It was really a powerful experience for the kids,” Poklemba said. Poklemba said she did not realize when they were undertaking the project that it would have a screening at the Theatre Lounge, but it should broaden the reach of the project. ”This is really a bonus,” Poklemba said. Arcata Elementary School Principal Margaret Flenner said her students are excited the Theatre Lounge will be showing the culmination of their project. Students are now much more aware of the issues that face the Pacific Ocean and the planet, even though many were already familiar with the benefits of recycling. With the video showing at the Arcata theater, she hopes it will help spread the information. ”Kids, when they put the message out, people listen,” Flenner said. Read Full Artricle
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Plastic-bag backers donate to California lawmakers ahead of bill's vote |
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Written by Susan Ferriss, Sacramento Bee
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8/26/10 With California lawmakers poised to vote on a historic effort to phase out plastic grocery bags, the American Chemistry Council is going all out to stop the proposal before the Tuesday legislative deadline.
The Virginia-based interest group, whose members include Exxon, Dow and plastic bag manufacturers, is a well-known player in California, where it has battled environmental bills and anti-plastic city ordinances it contends hurt businesses or limit consumer choice.
The council has marshaled an expensive TV and radio ad campaign against the bag bill, unleashed a flurry of fresh donations to politicians and assembled teams of high-powered lobbyists with ties to Republicans and Democrats at the Capitol.
This month alone, at least seven state senators – including four Democrats whose votes could prove crucial – have received campaign donations directly from the council or council affiliates Exxon and the South Carolina-based bag manufacturer Hilex Poly Co.
Hilex Poly Co. also gave $10,000 to the Democratic State Central Committee of California on Aug. 5. The next day, Exxon gave the Republican Party $10,000, among other donations it has made.
Read Full Article |
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